The Nebraska Corn Board said in a news release today that more 5,000 farmers and other ethanol backers all across Nebraska responded to a call for grassroots support of a proposal that would allow fuel blenders to increase the ethanol blend rate from 10 percent to up to 15 percent.
That proposal is in front of the Environmental Protection Agency right now. A decision is expected sometime in December.
The Nebraska Corn Board said nearly 5,000 individuals returned yellow postcards in support of the measure, while hundreds more submitted comments online before the July 20 deadline.
“The response to this call to action was just incredible,” said Randy Klein, director of market development for the Nebraska Corn Board. “It demonstrates the broad support of and commitment to ethanol in Nebraska. We have a lot at stake in Nebraska, as the second largest ethanol producing state in the country. We want to make sure those plants continue to produce at full capacity.”
Several Nebraska ethanol plants that had shutdown or were sold to new owners are now back online and operating at capacity, Klein said, while construction continues on a large plant at Columbus that should come online later this year.
Overall, the ethanol industry has produced more ethanol each month this year than it did a year ago (see these industry statistics from RFA).
While that may surprise some, considering most of the press these days is negative on ethanol, it demonstrates that the industry is pressing forward and is on track to meet the 10.5 billion gallons of ethanol necessary to meet the Renewable Fuels Standard target.
That's a 1.5 billion gallon increase from last year.
Klein also noted that in Nebraska, the state’s 23 operating ethanol plants have created nearly 1,000 jobs and generate $2.9 billion in total economic output and $51 million in tax revenues each year.
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